Extra, Extra Read All About It

I am a news junkie – and I am on a news holiday.  It’s a bit of a feat really.  I have not tuned into the news for one hundred and sixteen hours and counting.  I haven’t watched the news on TV, read an alert on my phone, hopped on my bookmarked websites, or even scrolled my Facebook feed.  (I admit I’ve jumped on FB to post encouraging words and to see if anybody has tagged for the same.)  I tuned off at noon on Monday, the day before Election Day 2020. 

I had originally planned to plug my ears and say, “la la la la la la la” just until the election was over.  When I mentioned this to a fellow news junkie at work he said, “Don’t you want to know who the next president is going to be?”  At the time, I told him I was pretty sure that information would still be available Wednesday; I didn’t need to sit on the edge of my seat all evening watching a colored map.  Turns out, here we are on Saturday and we still don’t know.  Or maybe some people know, but not me.  I’m still chillin’ in my blackout.  And it’s actually been quite nice.

I hated the news when I was a kid.  My dad would come home from work, walk up to the TV (which would be playing an absolutely must-see episode of Gilligan’s Island) and click over to Dinah Shore which then led into the evening news.  I didn’t really care for Dinah Shore either, but I really disliked the news.  It seemed so… BORING!

In the 70s, somebody had the great idea of trying to sneak news to kids sandwiched between Saturday morning cartoons.  Do you remember this?  They were short – but seemingly long – segments called In The News.  Much like our mothers’ attempts to hide vegetables in dinner casseroles, the intrusion was glaringly noticeable and not appreciated.  I much preferred singing my way along to informed sentence structure with Schoolhouse Rock.  Conjunction junction, what’s your function?

I’m not sure I know why or when I made the shift to having an interest in the news.  I guess it was a gradual build up starting with listening to weather/news while I got ready for work, checking my phone at lunchtime for new happenings, and then watching the evening news with MOH and my son.  We do like to be informed and discuss what is going on in the world.  But somewhere along the way I’ve gotten too engrossed and affected by situations I can’t control.  I have to say it was a relief this week to be able to say, “I voted.  I did my part and I can’t do anything else to impact the result, so I am signing off.”

Funnily enough, I haven’t been floating along in ignorant bliss.  Even without checking in with my friend, Lester Holt, I can tell you how many coronavirus tests in Michigan came back as positive each day this week, that the presidential situation continues to be contentious, and that we’re having the best November weather I can remember. 

How long will I continue to be a news hold out?  I don’t know, probably not much longer.  When I sat down at the computer this morning to blog, I had an itch to check my usual news haunts before I began to type.  But my hiatus this week was a good reminder that I don’t need to be plugged in all the time.  I need to keep world events in perspective and my peace of mind needs nurturing.  And I really haven’t been avoiding the news – I just haven’t been seeking out information like my well-being depends on it.  It doesn’t, and that’s a great realization.

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